Topic: Will the inevitable movie "save" the franchise by killing it?

[Ratty]

Killing the essence of what it really is I mean. Assuming LoS hasn't already killed off the original series forever...

As most of us know Paul W. S. Anderson has been trying to make a Castlevania movie for years now. (No idea who actually has the rights and reins now, it's gone back and forth so much.) And as most of us also know a movie by him or others would be unlikely to resemble the series canon in any real way. As I recall a previous treatment by Anderson was set in modern day New York for example. Anderson's terrible Resident Evil series has next to nothing to do with the games of the same name but they have allowed Resident Evil as a brand to not only remain in the public consciousness but to grow.

But how much has the heavy action, low (if any) horror influence of these movies hurt the games? Both from influencing the creators and shifting audience expectations of the brand? For some reason, the RE games have seemingly given up on actually being horror titles. And I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the success of the movies allowed Capcom to believe that's what the audience wanted, and maybe it really is. Though I would doubt that's the only reason if so, big companies seem to think genericizing all games, even ones in firmly genre-grounded series, to appeal to the widest possible audience is somehow a good idea these days. Maybe the next Madden will have FPS multiplayer for maximum penetration of the all-important demBROgrapic.

But I degress, changes to our beloved franchise would be inevitable in a film for budgetary and storytelling reasons. And probably so Anderson's wife could Mary-Sue if he winds up running the show. You can't build elaborate castle sets or even convincing CGI ones on the cheap, and the lone protagonist defeating monsters set-up would have to be changed for a general audience. There would have to be a love interest, because every American action movie MUST have a romance, and a comedy sidekick. No matter how much they're obviously tacked-on. Dracula and his minions would have to be adjusted to fit into a post-Twilight world.

If the movie(s) were successful this might make a general audience more aware of the brand name Castlevania, but would it really help game sales, and what would its creative effect be on future games? Of course since it seems Konami is probably not interested in reviving the original canon after MercurySteam lets go of the reins, the entire question may be moot.

PS- On the Resident Evil movies I would be tempted to say something like "the money of people with low standards and poor taste is just as green as everyone else's".
But a guy who's happily watched as much schlock as I have has no room to talk.

[uzo]

I think it would just bury it.

Castlevania is a little more delicate than most others when it comes to attempting to seriously execute it, especially as another form of media.

We know it can be done, but in order to take it to the next level would require such skill far beyond Paul W S Anderson's. Whereas Resident Evil could work as a run n' gun zombie shooter, what can Castlevania honestly transition into?

Castlevania is pretty stuck in it's genre, a one man army taking on the legions of the undead lead by Dracula of all things. In order to properly pull this off with any seriousness you really have to work at it. Honestly the only other direction they could possibly take with this is just full parody mode and hand it off to Pixar for a kid friendly fun filled monster mashup adventure. Not saying that wouldn't also be interesting, but I would prefer some sort of seriousness to it.

Capture for me the visual and audio spirit of Super Castlevania IV on the big screen, and you will win me over.

Personally I think Simon's Quest holds perhaps the biggest movie potential, other than Dracula's Curse of course. Simon's Quest has a wide aptitude for expansion to include a larger cast, with many "NPCs" able to take up some roles. The ferry man, the towns people, the Crystal Knight perhaps given a bigger role. Hell you could make up new character that fit right into the setting. A crazy merchant is always welcome. Perhaps a Zead like character for Death's part. There is a LOT you can do with this. I can see comedy working it's way in easier like this than any other game. You have such a wide variety of expansion and established things to work with.

Open the damn thing with Simon and Dracula's final battle, and a possible short montage of the castle trek. That will get the audience's attention. Then tell of the aftermath, the curse, and go from there. Simon battles the undead bosses, Carmilla, Death, etc etc etc while traveling the countryside on a varying set of backdrops. Finish it off at the castle ruins with Dracula wraith, and burning the count 'forever'. Looks great in my head.

Honestly this doesn't sound as hard as I thought. Too bad it'll never happen though.

[Flame]

We can dream at least

[Shiroi Koumori]

As far as I know, Anderson no longer holds the reins on the movie. But I'm not so sure about that info.

I personally am too afraid of any Castlevania movie coming out because it is a double edged sword. A successful movie might not be true to the game and a flop would make things worse in terms of game sales.

[X]

Personally I think Simon's Quest holds perhaps the biggest movie potential, other than Dracula's Curse of course. Simon's Quest has a wide aptitude for expansion to include a larger cast, with many "NPCs" able to take up some roles. The ferry man, the towns people, the Crystal Knight perhaps given a bigger role. Hell you could make up new character that fit right into the setting. A crazy merchant is always welcome. Perhaps a Zead like character for Death's part. There is a LOT you can do with this. I can see comedy working it's way in easier like this than any other game. You have such a wide variety of expansion and established things to work with.

Open the damn thing with Simon and Dracula's final battle, and a possible short montage of the castle trek. That will get the audience's attention. Then tell of the aftermath, the curse, and go from there. Simon battles the undead bosses, Carmilla, Death, etc etc etc while traveling the countryside on a varying set of backdrops. Finish it off at the castle ruins with Dracula wraith, and burning the count 'forever'. Looks great in my head.

Honestly this doesn't sound as hard as I thought. Too bad it'll never happen though.

Oh hell yes! Simon's Quest would fit the bill of a movie for sure! And don't forget about the woman whom visits Simon in the cemetery. It would give us a chance to see how Simon learned of his illness and about Dracula's curse over the land of Romania.

[darkwzrd4]

IMO, LoS put the series on life support in that I barely resembles what it was and that a movie would just kill it. It would be like pulling the plug on a brain-dead person. Ok, that I might have gone too far with that comparison, but you see my point.

Then again, if whoever knows what they are doing and actually knows the overall story of the cannon before LoS, it could save the series. Hell, if they were an actual fan of the series, the could make that movie about the 1999 battle. There are very little details about it that we know, which gives plenty of leeway for a movie so long as what has been said in the games is in the movie.

Here's what we know about the event:



• It happened in 1999
• It was during an eclipse
• The castle was sealed in the eclipse
• Julius Belmont was there
• Alucard was likely there
• There was a prophecy about it

Seeing how there was never a game made about the event, a movie is do-able if what we those points are used in the movie.

Unlikely I know, but it could happen.

[crisis]

Yoko's mom/dad was also there, as was Mina's father. And don't forget the "secret organization" Alucard joined (I'd like to think the Illuminati). Also the military was involved to some extent (various dead zombies that "marched towards their death in the Demon Castle War," according to the in-game descriptions)

I've always felt that Lords of Shadow was "the game of the movie." It has all the stuff a live-action CV movie would have; epic orchestrated soundtrack, big-name actors, awesome scenery, etc. Had LoS actually been released in theaters as the CV movie instead of a ps3 game, how would you guys feel about it? Would opinions be the same, or would it be "hey it has a lot of elements from Castlevania, but it also does it's own thing," which is what almost ALL Hollywood adaptations from previous media does anyway?

In that light, LoS can be seen as a blessing in disguise, because if you think about it, gameplay issues aside, it's everything a Castlevania movie on the big screen would be like. For the haters of LoS, I feel the game becomes easier to accept if you think about it like that.

[Super Waffle]

You mean Van Helsing wasn't supposed to be the Castlevania movie?

[Dremn]

I honestly don't think a movie will happen. If it was going to, it would have been years ago. They need to just stop trying to make it happen, the Metal Gear Solid movie sounds more promising anyway.

[Phoenix7786]

I think it would just bury it.



Castlevania is pretty stuck in it's genre, a one man army taking on the legions of the undead lead by Dracula of all things. In order to properly pull this off with any seriousness you really have to work at it. Honestly the only other direction they could possibly take with this is just full parody mode and hand it off to Pixar for a kid friendly fun filled monster mashup adventure. Not saying that wouldn't also be interesting, but I would prefer some sort of seriousness to it.
T you can do with this. I can see comedy working it's way in easier like this than any other game. You have such a wide variety of expansion and established things to work with.

Kinda like how they did The Incredibles?

[X]

And don't forget the "secret organization" Alucard joined (I'd like to think the Illuminati).

I doubt very much that Alucard would join the illuminati as they are the originators of the 'new world order' nonsense and thus are in a sense, the bad guys.

[darkwzrd4]

I doubt very much that Alucard would join the illuminati as they are the originators of the 'new world order' nonsense and thus are in a sense, the bad guys.

Maybe they are the ones who resurrect Dracula.

[Inccubus]

Keeping Anderson away from a CV movie would be one of the few instances where I would condone murder.

I honestly don't think a movie will happen. If it was going to, it would have been years ago. They need to just stop trying to make it happen, the Metal Gear Solid movie sounds more promising anyway.

They already did that movie. "Escape from NY" and "Escape from LA".

[Kingshango]

A Castlevania movie seems like one of those things that just doesn't get off the ground. If it does then I don't think it will "kill" the series but it'll leave just another mark on the franchises back. The only way Castlevania can be killed is for Konami to come out and say "We're killing the series, here's more Metal Gear!" and bury all the Castlevania teams in concrete underneath the building with Hudson, team Silent etc.

[Thomas Belmont]

I really hope that the movie is cancelled. I mean REALLY hope that it's cancelled. The odds of it being even close to decent are extremely low. There have been way too many lackluster stories in the games themselves, we don't need any more disappointing story telling in the Castlevania series.